With enthusiasm and an infectious smile, Adolfo Affatato approached the microphone at St. Ambrose Church in the Hill neighborhood of south St. Louis.  “Good morning. I don’t speak English,” he said in English looking out at a full church on a Thursday morning.

He did what he could in an opening statement, addressing the crowd as “my dear friends, my dear brothers and sisters,” and explaining that it was his pleasure to share his memories of 15 years as a spiritual friend of Padre Pio, who was beatified 20 years ago on the same day, May 2. St. Pio of Pietrelcina was a beloved Capuchin Franciscan priest from Italy who died in 1969 at age 81. More than 100,000 people attended his funeral.